This undated handout photo provided by the US Secret Service shows Secret Service agent Julia Pierson. President Barack Obama will appoint the veteran Secret Service agent as the agency’s first female director, signaling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal. (AP Photo/US Secret Service)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama on Tuesday named veteran Secret Service agent Julia Pierson as the agency’s first female director, signaling his desire to change the culture at the male-dominated service, which has been marred by scandal.

Pierson, who most recently served as the agency’s chief of staff, will take over from Mark Sullivan, who announced his retirement last month. The agency faced intense criticism during Sullivan’s tenure for a prostitution scandal during preparations for Obama’s trip to Cartagena, Colombia, last year.